In order for the train to reverse direction at the end of its 10-foot track, a reversing switch is needed. A power cable with a USB plug is connected to the battery pack at the back end of the train. I wouldn't suggest plugging the USB cable into a motherboard header, though. First, the motor draws more than 500 mA, exceeding the USB 2.0 spec. Secondly, a commuted DC motor feeds all kinds of electrical noise back into the power source, and this could affect audio quality during music playback.
There's a tiny metal bracket on the first and last piece of track, which is responsible for tripping the switch on the bottom of the tender. The polarity of the cable connections is absolutely critical if you want the reversal to work correctly.
Mounting the switch is easy, but it needs to be correctly oriented.
Finally, the motor's on/off switch has to be installed at the back of the tender. It's not positioned ideally; when the locomotive is lifted up, flipping the switch inadvertently is too easy. So, you'll want to make sure to keep the battery pack's switch turned off before transporting the train.
With cables run between the switches and battery pack, it's time to put the locomotive on the tracks for a test run. But what's the point of having a non-working PC moving around? Thus, I decided to replace all of the system's cables (except power, of course) with wireless connections.
- A Chassis That'll Start Conversations
- Packaging And Contents
- Power Supply And Wiring
- You'll Never Guess Where They Put The Optical Drive
- Mounting Our SSD
- Fun With A Fan
- Motherboard And CPU #1: Pulling Out The Stops
- Motherboard #2: Common Sense Prevails
- This Locomotive Needs Propulsion!
- Unboxing And Initial Thoughts
- Installing The Propulsion Module
- The Motor's Power Supply And Switch
- Wireless Communication
- Video And Audio Without Cables
- A Day At The Museum, Part 1
- A Day At The Museum, Part 2
- A Day At The Museum, Part 3
- Though Niche, Lian Li's PC-CK101 Is Certainly Cool




But since the PC era is coming to an end, who can blame Lian Li for having a little fun while they still can?
Taking the mobile computing theme further, and addressing the limitations on computing power, if you had a Dell Precision M6600 or 6700 laptop with a broken screen, how about mounting the components, motherboard , PSU, batteries, drives, Wifi and all? Then, there could be an i7 CPU and a Quadro 4000M, all very quiet and still getting more air than it's used to. And, appropriately, no power cord!
The idea of a serious, self- propelled workstation steam train model seems the best use possible of this fantastic enclosure idea. That the computer is itself the game is on the borderline of being art.
And congratulations to Igor Wallossek for an excellent description of something so wonderfully out of the ordinary.
Really enjoyable read, Igor! Also got to know about that Gigabyte wireless streamer, should prove useful!
Nice house btw
Great Article!
Possibly if even then yes like more go.
You both destroyed thousands of my brain cells processing that, lol.
My 4 year old son who loves Thomas the Train would have a fit over this, especially if you could get a thomas the tank version. I'll have to admit, I'd love it (and my wife) just as much watching him with it and I would have an excuse to work on computer stuff for a few hours. =D
I do see this as a possible future purchase! Great article and awesome product!
I'm using this mostly as HTPC now but I've programmed for him a special distance control and a small game to play with animals, colors etc. (like memory game). In this age he knows all basic colors (and pink
Now if you get to install a third rail and make it completely wireless, it would be absolutely amazing.